LOTHAL ORBIT // LOTHAL

The Assassin dropped into orbit from hyperspace, and she immediately went dark. The sensors on the ageing control room, X-Wings and Patrol Boats defending the planet unable to detect it. On the bridge officers of the first order went about their duty stations with silent efficiency. On the bridge, Commander Treer looked through the data that was being handed to him about the asset. He had been an Imperial spy back during its reign, and since its fall he took on work for the Bounty Hunting Guild. After the First Order was formed from the ashes of the Empire, and Daala movement, he had become an important intelligence asset to the First Order on the movements off Alliance Operatives in this sector of space ever since.

Sadly this was all coming to an end. Intel reported that he was about to be taken down, and hard, by a group of rangers. So their job was to extract him first. With as minimal collateral damage as possible, to prevent an all-out war. "Deploy the dropship to the capital city. Have them land as close to the asset as possible, and get him back on the ship."

---

Gal'Tak entered his office followed by the Wookiee. He was about to turn towards Snoata to offer him his payment when suddenly a door along the far wall opened. Three Ranger Droids stood in the doorway. Gal'Tak drew two blasters that were on his hip, firing towards the droids as he took cover. They raised their weapons, firing stun blasts into the room.

Groaning he raised the gun to the temple of the bounty, letting loose a blast killing him instantly. He then turned to Snoata. "I'll pay your bounty, and triple it if you get me out of here. Now."

@Sep

Snoanta

Lothal

When Gal'Tak opened the door, Snoanta was not expecting to see two assassin droids waiting for them. He thought at first that Gal’Tak had betrayed him, but seeing Gal’Tek pulling out his blaster told him that these droids were hostile. “You got yourself a deal.” Flipping over the desk so that they could get some cover. Firing his bowcaster between the volley of blaster shots, he was hoping to get one of the droids in the head to disable it. He noticed Gal’Tek aiming for the droid’s body taking it out. Scanning the room wondering if he could run out of the room with Gal’Tek. But the droids was bombarding the desk with their blaster fire. “Do you have any ideas on how we’re going to get out of here?” He asked Gal’Tek who seemed more distracted by trying to avoid being hit by blaster fire.

Quickly looking above the desk, and looking around at anything on the ceiling he could shoot at to disable the droids.

Alastrina could barely contain her excitement. It was Luke Skywalker himself! Come to debrief their mission! Though it did sound serious...She hoped this Bridger guy was okay. She swallowed back her squeel, tried to appear as put together as possible, then asked. "So...The lightsaber was found and nothing else? No footprints or tracks of any kind?"

Percivalyn rolled her eyes. "The planet is a rain world, isn't it? There would be no tracks then." Man, the girl was getting on her nerves. Who the heck was this excitable?! She was like some overgrown lothwolf pup!

Privately though, she was still unnerved by the images sent. She had gone through so much. Been rejected by the *Order*. Her soul roiled with guilt, but she kept her shields secure. She...She couldn't share back. No one else had to know about then. Instead, she just sent apology in her field towards her.

BRIEFING ROOM // JEDI TEMPLE // AHCH-TO
^{@Cyrania@Forsythe}

Luke nodded at Captain Tagrate. "Your discretion, if you feel like you may reach a visual range then it is probably best you remove any markings. While you've been sent here by Leia, this mission hasn't exactly been sanctioned by the Galactic Alliance, but the fact that Master Bridgers Lightsaber has been found in First Order space and no Master Bridger... It's raising some concerns within Ranger Command and the Jedi Council."

Luke turned his attention to Alastrina "We've had nothing else reported to us, there could be signs but the Separatist Agent didn't want to dig too deep at risk of exposing themselves to the First Order."

He then turned to Percival "What little environmental data we have seems to indicate it's more of an arctic world, it has an incredibly slow rotation. The 'Day' appears to be stormy weather but, mostly arctic." The holo map came up again.

"Master Bridgers lightsaber was found here-" A dot was highlighted on the map. "-It appears to be a mostly mountainous region. From what we've been told there have been high levels of First Order activity in the area, but that mostly seems to be finished by this point. Still, there's the possibility of patrols in the area."

Luke pulled out a data chip from the table and handed it to the Captain. "This will have all the relevant information you need. I don't need to remind you that time is of the essence."

---

CAPITAL CITY // LOTHAL

One droid went down as a blaster bolt struck it in the chest, Snoata hit another one in the head leaving them with only one droid standing. It kept pushing towards them, and he could hear more footsteps coming from outside the room. Gal'Tek signalled to the door that they had initially come into the room from. "Back out the back door. Quickly. Get me to your ship, and get me off-world."

Two more droids burst through the door, joined by an actual ranger wearing full armour. A stun grenade bounced over the desk but he grabbed it and threw it back over, it exploded in the thin air and Gal'Teks skin tingled with the edges of the effect.

The ranger spoke up. "Stop! You're under arrest for espionage! Come quietly or we'll put you down."

The mission seemed simple enough. Go in. Find the target. Make a grab. Get the hell out of dodge. Try not to start a galactic war would you? Yeah, Lakras was ordering the markings painted over and then some. The unsanctioned status of the mission was a splitting headache, but someone had to do it. Still, one ship or one Jedi were not worth plunging the galaxy into war between the Alliance and the Order over. Note to self, check that the self destruct is in ready condition.

Pocketing the information chip, she nodded. "We'll go incognito. Our transfer is recent, unless the order has spies up to the Chanc- Commander Organa, they should not know yet. It should be easy to masquerade as a crew going AWOL to become mercs, especially if I don't show my face and let, say, and upstart young traitor do the talking as if she owns the place." she put forth, winking at Alastrina.

"It will take about half a day for the ship modificaitons to be done and spoofing the transponder codes. That should give everyone plenty of time to pack and shuttle aboard, I'll leave one shuttle here until everyone is aboard. I assume present company is coming, yourself excluded?" she asked Luke, making note to account for extra provisions and eyeballing the Astromech, wondering whether it would like to go on another grand adventure. "Any of you Jedi types want to bring their personal spacecraft aboard, let me know the specs and we'll see about clearing some space." she advised. The Marauder class was versatile, but it was no Venator.

AHCH-TO // JEDI TEMPLE

Normally he would have something witty and cocky to say, as of typical character but if there was one person he would never question or disrespect, it was Master Luke Skywalker. There was a feeling of pride knowing he was permitted to undergo in such a mission and collaborating with a Ranger again. Yet for all the proud pride he possessed, the level of uncertainty and risk involved radiated with his inner doubt and competitive nature. Dante had never been on a mission that dealt with this utmost importance and circumstance. The mission was the standard failure is not an option type.

As Captain Larkas offered to potentially bring any sort of spacecraft, Dante shook his head. "I'm grateful for your offer Captain, but it's best I leave my ship. As much as I'm interested in potentially getting into a dog fight with some First Order fly boys, no amount of paint or deception will trick any First Order officer worth his rank when it comes to the new X-Wings. Having said that, I'm ready when to go when you are."

With no questions on the minute details, Dante then turned to Luke and bowed his head with the most utmost respect once more. "I'm thankful for the opportunity, we won't let you down."

The shuttle dropped out of hyperspace on the edge of the Junker Fleet. As soon as its transponder pinged, it wasn’t questioned. It wasn’t challenged. The Junker Fleet knew whose space they were inhabiting. Transmitting clearance, and a docking request. The shuttle glided into the hangar of the Venator, wings folding up over its head. Touching down on repulsors, the hatch at the front opening and hissing even before the hangar door had closed. Two armoured individuals descended from the ramp. The first, Captain Phasma. One of the elite soldiers within the First Order, right hand woman to General Hux with her own special training program within the First Order.

The second figure was clearly a Mandalorian, though his armour markings were irregular. It wasn’t visible, due to their helmets though Phasma wasn’t comfortable with him, and he wasn’t comfortable with her.

They were unknown quantities.

Phasma didn’t like things being unknown. She drilled her people to be loyal through and through, they were conditioned to respond to events accordingly. Now due to some orders coming from on high she was just expected to trust this Mandalorian. It was absurd.

The two of them walked out from beneath the shuttle.She stood waiting at the base of the ramp, the mandalorian by her side waiting. She never approached first, no. They had to come to her.

The Mandalorian didn’t feel like playing such games. Instead he walked up to the closest deckhand, clasping his shoulder to turn him around. “We need whoever's in charge.”

---

“Ma’am… the First Order is here. They are requesting the usual landing permissions.”

Tamara Hycin was standing in front of the viewport of The Salvager’s bridge, her hands clasped behind her back. She wore the outfit she always wore when among the Junkers Union: a tight brown jumpsuit with a red vest, and a heavy blaster pistol strapped with a utility belt to her hip. Her clothes didn’t bear a single stain, but none of the workers or scrappers here would dare to bring it up. It was a show of solidarity that all on board understood, and putting it to words would draw unwanted attention from the cutthroat privateer. Her eyes were trained on the new speck that she had clocked from her position moving closer. Before her subordinate had even spoke, she could recognize that shuttle anywhere. Tamara gave a nod, and turned her gaze to her left where a man dressed in a run-down Rebel Alliance naval uniform was looking to her expectantly. ”They are authorized for the portside docking bay. Make an announcement for Captains Andarin and Rinslan to report there as well.” With a nod of acknowledgement from the officer, Tamara turned on her heels and walked briskly towards the elevator shaft to meet with the First Order. She knew they did not appreciate tardiness.

Within a few moments, her brisk footsteps were matched by those of Captain Winrell Rinslan. His familiar steps echoed in the empty halls in this portion of the ship, the sound of the leather imperial boots a nostalgic sound to the former Imperial officer. Rinslan was a tall, lithe man who never quite filled out his old naval uniform quite right, resulting in him having to use careful tucking and some pins to try and get it to conform around his body. That being said, his alterations were calculated and in compliance with the harsh dress code of his naval upbringing. His steps were uniform and practically a clicking march in lockstep with his commanding officer. This was interrupted by the thudding footfalls of Captain Jax Andarin, whose face and hair were still marked with grease stains. He jogged up towards the former Imperials, readjusting his coat as he fell nearly in step alongside Captain Rinslan in following Chief Hycin. Tamara turned her gaze towards Jax as he fell in line, her sweet tones undercut with a threatening confidence. ”They are earlier than usual. Don’t speak unless I give the signal.” Jax gave a confused glance to Winrell, who simply flashed a condescending smirk to his fellow Captain. Jax clenched his jaw as he turned his gaze ahead to follow the others into the docking bay.

The doors slid open, and Chief Hycin took a step forward confidently. Her eyes glanced over the familiar shuttle, before passing over two figures. She slowed her next step for a moment, just long enough for Jax to fall out of step and nearly run into his CO. Hycin’s heart missed a beat as recognition passed over her face for a second. Reputation was a powerful tool, and one the Junkers Union brandished to keep fear in the heart of its enemies. But a reputation powerful enough to make Tamara Hycin nearly stop dead in her tracks was rare. Tamara took a deep breath as she continued her pace once again. This was unexpected, and unexpected was not something Tamara Hycin was fond of. The lone deckhand turned his gaze towards the open blast doors and the three figures approaching, and shakily pointed a finger in their direction. “Y-You’ll want to speak with Chief Hycin, s-sir.” The second he got the chance, the dockhand slipped from the Mandalorian’s grip and made his way towards a couple other dockhands standing alert near a set of ammunition crates, doing his best to fade into the background.

Tamara Hycin and company marched within a few meters of the two visitors, and she fell into an immediate salute along with Winrell. Jax stood at his full height and kept his hands resting on his utility belt, far and enough away from the CA-87 resting in a holster on his right thigh. Tamara’s voice went rigid and formal, her naval discipline kicking in. ”It is an honor to have you on board, Captain Phasma.”

The Mandalorian stepped back in line behind Phasma. Letting go off the deckhand as the three officers approached. Phasma instantly clocked two of them for Imperials. The third. She’d assume he had no formal military background, no that wasn’t right. Rebel maybe. When she finally spoke her voice was metallic and neutral, her helmet filtering her voice to betray no emotion. Instead everything sounded like mild disdain.

“It’s good to see that my reputation precedes me. This is my associate, he goes by the title Crusader. He needs your ship and its crew for an important mission. I need you to be ready to leave within five hours if you are to make your timeframe.”

Tamara kept her gaze straight, lowering her attentive stance as Winrell followed. She bared a slightly warm smile,raising her eyebrows in some acknowledgement of surprise at the sudden request. She knew better than to play any part other than the accommodating servant. ”The Junkers Union would be happy to serve the First Order. Are you requesting The Salvager or the whole fleet?”

“The Salvager will suffice. We have some specialist vessels that will meet with you at the target destination to assist as necessary.” Phasma turned and gestured to Crusader “I remind you that in my absence you will be in the employ of Crusader-” She had to stop herself from scoffing at his ridiculous name. “-and his orders should be taken as our own. I assume I don’t need to remind you that my presence here indicates you have gained yourself some prestige? My superiors sent me here directly.”

Tamara nodded towards Captain Rinslan, who nodded in return and sharply turned on his heels to begin preparations for departure. She turned her gaze back towards Phasma, same warm smile plastered on her lips. ”We are happy for the recognition and opportunity to perform such a vital mission for the First Order.” Her gaze turned finally in acknowledgement of the Mandalorian. ”We will be happy to escort you to the bridge for a briefing on what you need from us when you are ready, Crusader.” With a simple turn of head once again, Tamara’s eyes locked back onto Phasma. ”Do you have any further specifications or accommodation requests, Captain?”

Crusader merely nodded, before pulling some form of needle from a pouch on his hip, stabbing in between two joints of his armour.

Phasma meanwhile signalled back to the shuttle as a group of eleven troopers, and a twelfth with an officers pauldron, descended from the shuttle. “This squad of troopers will remain behind to assist Crusader with his duties aboard this ship. All other details, Crusader will fill you in on.” Without another word she turned around and back up towards the shuttle. The troopers stood waiting in the middle of the hangar as the ramp to the shuttle was once more raised. As soon as the doors were open it raised off its legs and left the hangar.

Crusader spoke again, his voice oddly hollow and gravely. “Take me to the bridge, and have someone show the Troopers to some quarters.”

Tamara watched the shuttle begin to take off from the hangar, and turned to match Jax’s gaze. Her warm smile gave way to a simmering rage, which Jax met with a slight nod. She turned her gaze back towards Crusader. ”I’ll have an officer escort them momentarily. For now, we will lead you to the bridge.” Chief Hycin turned on her heels and began making her way out of the hangar bay and towards the turbolift to the bridge, fetching a small datapad from her vest pocket and typing up a quick message to prepare one of the barrack spaces for the troopers. Of course, it meant having to quickly evict salvagers back to The Dauntless, but it was an acceptable tradeoff. They would be liabilities in the coming mission regardless. Jax followed Tamara closely, keeping an eye on Crusader with clear suspicion. Something about this whole situation didn’t sit right with the pilot. And he knew damn well at this point to trust in his gut.

The Crusader stood in front of the briefing table. To others looking at him he could easily have been a droid beneath the armour. Only very occasionally did his chest move to show him breathing. He put a datacard into the holotable and, begrudgingly, a hologram appeared above the table. Flickering slightly.

“This is the planet Lola Sayu. It has been a prison that’s changed galactic hands almost as many times as Coruscant. It once again lies within Separatist space and there’s something buried beneath the surface of the planet that I need to recover in order to reclaim Mandalore, and build it into the strong nation it used to be. Before the New Mandalorians, or Death Watch. True Mandalore.”[/color]

Tamara Hycin gave a curious nod, motioning towards the projection. ”Getting you into Separatist Space… getting you here, even. That’s something we can do. We’re independent enough that getting you there isn’t going to cause an intergalactic incident. The thing is…”

One of the assembled foremen, a human scavenger, chuckled as he pointed towards the planet. “You want to bring a star destroyer to dig around in some dirt. That sounds like a great plan.”

Crusader turned to the scavenger. “Well I heard you people were scavengers and understood how to find and extract valuable material. Under battle conditions no less. If your reputation is merely an exaggeration then I can take the business of the First Order elsewhere.”[/color]

Jax Andarin stood with his arms folded, observing the holographic display of the planet with a stern expression. ”What is it you’re looking to dig up? And why is it valuable enough you’re expecting resistance to us hauling it?” He turned his gaze towards the Mandalorian. ”And, to address the Acklay in the room… Are we expecting a droid garrison or a Ranger fleet to try and stop us?”

Crusader turned to Jax. “What is my business, as is how valuable it is.” He tapped a few keys and the hologram shifted to the orbit of the planet. “The Separatists have been using it as a prison again, officially it’s for their most hardened criminals. Unofficially they’re using it as a black site for their special operation branches. We can expect to encounter one Providence, and two Munificents in orbit. We’ll have assistance when we get there.”

Tamara Hycin gave a look towards one of the flight officers standing next to her, who immediately stood more upright as he was being addressed. She whispered a few words to him, and he rushed out of the briefing area. ”The entire fleet will be prepared to assist, in the event there are any unnecessary complications. The last thing we want is our backs exposed if the Separatists catch wind of our salvage job.”

Jax shook his head slightly, eyeing the holographic display carefully as he ran the numbers in the back of his head. ”If we move quickly enough, we can blindside them before they have time to call for help. But if we’re going to be effective in helping, we need to know how big the objective we’re securing is.”

The mandalorian nodded to Tamara. “If you feel that is necessary so be it, though I have faith in this vessel and those already standing by to assist.” Turning his attention back to Jax. “We’re looking for a chamber that’s roughly the same size of a Consular-Class Cruiser, which this vessel has a bay specifically designed for and from what I’ve seen from the schematics this bay also should possess the tractor beam transmitters. Allowing the ship to move into position above the target and then haul the cargo aboard.”

”Should we be expecting heavy anti-air defenses planetside?” Jax’s gaze turned over towards a few pilots who were milling in the back of the small assembly attending this briefing, who gave him a nod in recognition that this too was on their minds.

The map zoomed in on the cracked part of the planet. “Not where we’re going. What we’re looking for is somewhere closer to the planet's centre. Interferes with electronics which makes targeting systems virtually useless. There won’t be any weapons down there capable of tracking a starfighter. Let alone successfully landing a shot on one. No, the Separatists probably don’t even know what we’re looking for is down there. It predates them. Our only issue with them is that they probably wouldn’t let us just walk in and take it.”

Tamara nodded, turning her gaze over those members of the Junkers Union assembled. ”For most of you, you understand your roles and positions. For those of you on salvage jobs, you have two hours to secure and store safely any of your current projects. We will be dumping what we do not need to accommodate this job. I do not need to stress to any of you how vital it is you are on your ‘A’ game, people.” Chief Hycin’s gaze fell on Jax, who gave a smirk and a nod in acknowledgement. ”Shuttles will be leaving in fifteen to take officers to their respective frigates. Be prepared to give those droid-fuckers what they deserve, boys.” A collective murmur and buzz began to fill the briefing room as most of the officers began to break off and relay orders to their subordinates. Tamara and Jax remained stationary, with Tamara turning her gaze back to Crusader. ”The trick will seem to be in identifying the chamber. If targeting systems and scanners are rendered inoperable, I take it you’ll need visual confirmation.”

“I’ll go down and tag the chamber personally. You don’t need to worry about that.”

”Very well. We can keep a shuttle on standby for you, unless you have a more specific transportation request.”

“I will have transportation available already once we arrive insystem. Now, you have a ship to prepare. Don’t allow me to get in your way, make your preparations to get us underway.” Without so much of a second thought, Crusader walked out of the open doors and moved away from the bridge.

As soon as the blast doors closed behind Crusader, Tamara lowered her head and let out a sigh. Jax took a step forward, only to be interrupted by his superior as she raised a finger in his direction. ”I don’t want to hear it.”

Jax shook his head, slowly circling the holotable to stand directly opposite Tamara. ”I’m excited to take down some clankers, Tamara, don’t get me wrong. But this isn’t just a normal contract to take down pirates. We’re making a move against the Separatists directly, and the Alliance is going to declare us pirates… or maybe even terrorists. And I think there are people here who aren’t comfortable with that.”

Tamara slowly lifted her head, her cold eyes meeting Jax’s with a look of quiet rage that almost made the pilot recoil. Her tone was low, and the pacing of her words ever so slow. ”This is my ship, Jax. This is my fleet, and do not make me remind you that I own your ship. I do not know where you got it through your thick skull that this was a democracy. If you don’t like that, you are free to walk away, Andarin. But you will be walking away with nothing.”

She held Jax’s gaze for a moment, before turning her gaze to the exit and leaving the briefing room. Jax stood there for a few minutes in absolute silence, his gaze on the dimmed holo-emitter of the table in front of him. He took a deep breath, and pulled his comlink up to his lips. ”Scavs… I want pre-flight checks and payloads ready within the hour. We’ve got some ships to scrap.”

@Sep

Snoanta

Lothal

Snoanta nodded his head to Gal’Tek’s offer. He did not want to be tortured by what he assumed were goverment officals, for a crime he did not commit. Although they could be wanting to arrest Gal’Tek, however he felt like he would be guilty by association for helping Gal’Tek. He hoped that Gal’Tek would keep his word and pay the Wookie extra. Feeling the effects of the stun grenade going off, he quickly gains his facilities. He noticed the ranger and a couple of droids coming into the room, he needed to vacate the room as quickly as possible. The situation was starting to get out of control quite fast. Seeing another droid throwing another stun grenade towards the duo, Snoanta shot it in the droid’s hand, making the group stunned for long enough for the two to escape. Quickly picking up Gal’Tek carrying him underneath his arm, dashing towards the back door.

Hauling ass towards his ship being glad that E8 left the door of the ship open. He hoped that he would be quick enough to head into his ship. While running he was firing his bowcaster at the pursuing droids.

What the Jedi boy said actually made a great deal of sense, now that Lakras thought about it. They would have to make a rendezvous with a supply ship shortly before leaving Alliance space in either case, and he handed her a nice idea to request some of the older fighters to be brought onboard. "Very well," she said, "I will go up to set up everything. You heard he man, pack for cold weather. We'll put you in the cabins, so you'll have plenty of space for coats. Is there is anything else, we'll be requesting one supply run before we leave Alliance space. We may want to swap a fighter or two for land vehicles so that the away team doesn't freeze their noses off. The shuttle crews will take your bags when they are ready, we should be leaving in a day or so once the paint dries. Ranger Rogers, I assume you arrived here already packed, come with me we'll set you up with the crew." she turned her attention to the young ranger, beckoning towards the shuttle.

On her way to the landing area, she pulled out her transciever and connected to the ship: "Milky way, Blackstar. I'm coming up plus one, have the chief engineer ad XO meet me at the hangar, and clear one bunk and two cabins. Also, have the flyboys come together and think what fighters a gen old would they like to fly the most."

"Willco, ma'am. They will be overjoyed." came back an cackling voice.

"Need a hand with your stuff, ranger?" she offered.

@Cyrania

"Oh, not at all!" Alastrina grinned, patting her pack. "I got everything I need right here. Thanks though!" Then she ran into the gestured shuttle with her, the twi'lek Jedi only a bit behind her. Alice then went followed after Lakras. "So...What kind of ship do you have? My parents had a YT series, but they always debated over keeping it or exchanging it for something else. Ended up keeping it thankfully. I was born and raised in that ship."

Percivalyn though went into a corner, crossed her legs under her, and started meditating. Her first mission, and she with her companions would have to find a Jedi that was lost. Master Luke expected great things of her, as he did any other Jedi. She dare not disappoint. At least there was also Knight Dante with them. He had some experience in missions before. Once her nerves settled, she came out of meditation then moved closer to where Dante was. "What do you say to the odds of our success?"

Dante nodded his head every so often, simply taking in all the information that was being discussed. Considering the planetary circumstances they were about to undergo, Dante privately mused that he was sure he had some sort of clothing for the cold weather either on his starfighter or potentially in an old storage locker somewhere on the temple. With the group disbanding to make their final preparations, Dante figured it was time to do the same. Yet before he made any sort of movements, a voice called out to him. It was Percivalyn, the other Jedi coming along.

Dante shrugged at her question, turning his gaze briefly away as if contemplating some grand answer. "I'm not much of a numbers guy, so whatever the odds are, I'll do my job." Dante replied. It came off as a cocky response yet Dante always had a certain unshakeable confidence about him. Yet as the young knight turned to look back at the Twi'Lek he recognized that his companion was experiencing some nerves. It was only after his response that Dante felt a hint of embarrassment in his answer, feeling that he could have formulated something better out of his mouth. In a quick effort to remedy his mistake and not potentially ruin any sort of teamwork comradery, Dante chuckled and gestured his head quickly towards the others. "If Master Skywalker believes in us, who cares what the numbers say. We'll be good."

LOTHAL

Gal'Tek followed the Wookiee through the streets of the city, ducking left and right as shots were taken at them. One caught him in the leg and he went down, tumbling. Managing to secure himself in a doorway. Suddenly, an explosion overhead as blaster bolts rained down from the sky and struck a building that had Rangers camping on the roof. The screaming engines of First Order drop ships could be heard as they wooshed past overhead, before spinning back around. Their auto-cannons firing indiscriminately at anything that moved. Including Snoata. Gal'Tek climbed out of his hiding spot, one hand reaching down and applying pressure to the wound on his leg. Meanwhile, he used his other hands to wave at the closest transport. Of the two one landed on the roof, the door opening and troopers running down the ramp taking positions all around the roof.

Meanwhile, the closer ship landed in the middle of the street, troopers ran out shooting at everything that moved beyond Gal'Tek. An officer came out wielding a pistol. "Come with us. Now."

---

The ship drifted lazily through the atmosphere of Dubrillion. Two TIE Fighters escorted her, one of the port and starboard sides. The pilot however never reported this to the mercenaries within. As they approached the city and the landing pad beside the ocean he didn't alert them to the fact that a troop transport sat there, the stormtroopers stood on the platform waiting for the Vagabond to come in for a landing. Besides the troop transport stood an old Nu-attack shuttle. Outside of it stood A man in old clone armour, as the Vagabond came in to land, he put his helmet on and signalled to the troopers.

Filing up the ramp two by two, they stormed the ship.

"I have to admit, while I approve of the speed, I never liked the YT series with the off-center cockpits. I like to have the same amount of ship to either side of me, whether I'm in command or at the helm." Lakras grinned, before displaying the deck plan of the Milky way on the briefing display in the shuttle. "I am happy to serve on a Marauder class. She suffers a bit from only having large weaponry, I would like to add a couple of laser turrets to deal with fighters, but this can has got me and the crew out of dodgy situations before and we wouldn't trade her for anything. I may have still accepted a ranger commission if I had to transfer to a cruiser, but this mission worked rather happily for us in that regard." she smiled.

Moving to a more professional topic. "Is this your first posting? What training do you have? I need to know where to put you." she asked, "Also I am not sure for how much decisionmaking the Jedi will push, but I've studied my history and I am not too keen on the idea of 'Jedi generals'. In space what I say goes, but we may have to rely on them on the ground." she mused out loud.

@Sep

Snoanta

Lothal

After a couple of miles of running, he had placed Gal’tek down to run on his own. Of course, he thought this was a terrible idea despite being a slow runner himself. He would rather Gal’Tek being safe than being shot at by their pursuers. Turning around to the noise of Gal’Tek’s scream, running as quickly as he could to try and take him to safety. The shots from the blasters were whizzing past his ears, Firing back at his pursuers with his bow and blaster. Noticing the two drop ships coming down onto the street, of course before he could hide he was shaken off of his feet from a large explosion near him. He dropped his bow caster on the ground, his ears were ringing and he stumbled a little to grab his caster and hide in the alleyway. He had to hide behind somewhere since the firing was getting too heavy, he was worried that Gal’Tek was dead. The Wookie could not go far unless by some miracle he could find some way to escape. He noticed more of his perusers were coming out of the ship and towards him.

“Like hell I am.” He muttered to himself, peeking his head out of the alleyway at his pursuers. Calling E8 and telling him to meet Snoanta a couple of miles from where he was. Going through a side door in the building in front of him, not caring about the people in the room screaming in terror seeing this Wookie armed to the teeth running past them. Running through the building and outside making his way towards an empty street, noticing his ship landing in front of him with the landing dock opening up. Running towards his ship, hoping to get inside of his ship before his pursuers got to him first. He felt bad for not getting Gal'Tek, but he thought that it was too late for him. However, he was going to go back to get him once he's inside of his ship.

Percivalyn nodded. "Master Skywalker would not send us on a doomed mission." Would he? She shook her head. This was not the time for talk like that. She prepared for the journey then quietly reflected in the shuttle as she waited for them to head into the ship.

---

Alastrina frowned. "You mean the Clone Wars. Yeah, none if that sounded good." Then she smiled again. "I'm sure we won't have those kind of problems though. As for me...Well, I'm good with a blaster and not a bad pilot if I do say so myself. I also know some things about surviving in the wilderness and first aid. If you're talking about Ranger experience though..." She swallowed. "This would be my first mission, but I'm perfectly willing to pull my weight and prove myself!"

The war behemoths of the Republic rested like slumbering whales, suspended within the void. There were near fifteen in total, and they made up a large proportion of the Third Republic Fleet assembling over the emerald green world of Kuat, halfway between the twin moons. They were a motley sort, so unlike the regimental ex imperial and First Order fleets where every ship was made and designed purpose built and symmetrical. Among the unregimented Republic forces Liberty Class Mon Cal ships drifted close to Nebulon-B frigates, intermingling with a pair of old Providence-class destroyers. Even a large, conspicuously out of place Victory-1 star destroyer hovered in close proximity to the centerpiece MC80 cruiser, from which Admiral Frimus Nantz flew his flag. In-between them all rested nearly thirty different support ships, corvettes and gunboats sticking close to their larger charges as a child would to a parent. There they waited patiently, just within Kuat’s gravity well for the remainder of the fleet to finish repairing and refitting in the great Kuati shipyards that ringed the ancient planet below.

One such ship, a sturdy Bothan Assault Cruiser, christened the Ralroost reclined against her mooring restraints as EV suited dock hands prepared the final touches for the ship’s release. She’d spent the last two months strapped down over Kuat, being refitted with shiny new guns, powerful shielding, and dedicated active and passive scanners. Meanwhile a full compliment of crew, nearly fifteen hundred in total had been arriving daily, filling the empty cabin space, and manning the necessary stations in preparation for lift off. Within Ralroost’s forward bridge a flurry of activity was taking place as new officers took their positions, running system checks and numerous checklists. At the center of it all Captain Traest Kre’fey stood ramrod straight, his hands clasped neatly behind his back in the perfect position of parade rest. Only his tufted ears moved, twitching this way and that as he observed the goings on. Nothing escaped his sharp hearing, and judgmental gaze, and more than one young officer felt the hair on the back of their neck stand straight when the violet eyes fixed on them. The bridge, and the rest of the larger crew were made up of a roughly even mixture of bothans and humans, with several other races mixed into the larger whole. They worked steadily, and Traest found himself unable to find complaint in their competency.

His veteran crew were largely dispersed after the Ralroost was decommissioned, and were spread out amongst the four Republic fleets or outright retired. Instead of the expert crewmen that’d served under him before, Traest found himself commanding a majority green crew, with only a spattering of aged familiar faces amongst the sea of youth. Circumstances as they were it was unavoidable, Traest had no one to blame but himself. Still, watching them at work lifted some of the anxiety he’d been feeling over the past week as the academy fresh officers had streamed aboard.

“Sir, the Yard is prepared to release tethers at your order.” A young bothan female, a junior grade lieutenant and his new communications officer swiveled in her chair to face Captain Kre’fey. One hand held ready on her headset to send the reply back to Yard Control.

The bothan gave the woman a slight incline of his head to show he’d heard and said. “Excellent lieutenant, inform them to standby and await instructions. Helm, fire repulserlifts and prepare for launch, five degree climbing gradient, ten percent forward thrust. Conversion, route power to the engines, and raise soft impact shields, Navigation route a course to put us alongside Starshield and Voidtrotter. Commander Jaeger, if you would be so kind, inform the crew, we’ll be departing in two minutes.”

“Yessir!” Came the chorus as the bridge made the last minute preparations.

The Ralroost roared to life, a tiny vibration could be felt underfoot as the engines provided life to the repulsers that would get them clear of the yard. At the command panel an older human male pressed a button, projecting his voice across the Ralroost to all the waiting crew. “All hands this is Commander Jaeger, prepare for launch within two minutes and standby for further orders.” Leaving the console Commander Sarl Jaeger joined Traest on the raised dais running between the two crew pits, folding his arms and letting his gaze wander the busy bridge. “They aren’t doing half bad for a bunch of freshies, I was right when I said you were underestimating them. Seems like you owe me a drink.”

The bothan Captain raised an eyebrow at his Executive Officer’s comment. The human was grinning, and although human expressions still mostly eluded Traest he knew a playful jab when he heard one. Sarl Jaeger was a longtime friend, and trusted right hand man, and perhaps the only being onboard the Ralroost who felt comfortable teasing the ship’s captain. Sarl was one of the few veterans Traest had insisted upon returning to his command. It had taken a considerable amount of string pulling, but in the end he had succeeded in getting Sarl as his EO once again. Traest spoke, a hint of humor in his tone. “Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself Commander? I would hardly consider this adequate evidence; we haven’t even left the docks yet.”

Sarl shrugged, noncommittedly. “Ah, perhaps sir. But I know a good bunch when I see them, they’ll prove me right in the end, just you watch. Isn’t that right Lieutenant Renwar?” The Commander’s gaze snap locked onto the Tactical Officer who’d been none to discreetly eavesdropping on his superior’s conversation.

The young man flushed bright red, a telltale sign of human embarrassment among other emotions Traest knew. “Yes sir, I mean, uh, sorry sirs.” Renwar stammered, uncertain what he should do under the fierce gaze of his leaders.

“Attend your station, lieutenant.” Traest’s tone carried a soft growl of warning, but little else. The kid was only just over two decades old, and unlike the rest of the bridge crew, tactical was the closest to the dais, with little to do other than watch and listen. Captain Kre’fey couldn’t really blame him for losing focus. Renwar stuttered a second apology and went back to monitoring his empty display screen.

Traest returned his attention to the forward viewport, everything was ready, and the silent countdown in his head ticked down to zero. “Are you ready, Commander?” He asked of his EO, the human was very pointedly not looking at him, his face twisted in barely controlled mirth.

It took an extra second for Sarl to recover but eventually he nodded. “At your command, Captain.”

“Very well. Comm, have us released.” The bothan at the communications station relayed the order, and a brief moment later a metallic clunk could be heard as the magnetic clamps holding the Ralroost in place released.

“We are free floating sir.” The bothan helmsman supplied before pressing the forward throttle. “Underway!”

Traest felt a small shift as the ship glided forward and the artificial gravity readjusted to their forward movement. At long last, after nearly four years he was back aboard his bridge. Surrounded by loyal men and women on a Republic warship, making course for the stars. The bothan inhaled the recycled air and released it with a grateful sigh. It had been far too long.

Chaos was in the air by the time the bounty hunters shuttle landed. Old Z-95 fighters and X-Wings from the planets security force roared through the air, as one of the First Order shuttles lifted of the ground it was strafed by bolts, shaking slightly before stabilising. The turret atop it turned to follow the fighters, catching it in the tail it went crashing down to the streets below.

"We don't have time Gal'Tek. Where did you store the information?" The First Order officer approached blaster drawn as the fighters roared overhead, in the distance the unmistakable scream of TIE fighter engines.

"You think I'm just going to hand over the only insurance I've got? No. You get me out of here then you get the chit."

Several of the fighters that had been strafing the drop ships shot off to the sky, in a desperate attempt to stave off the TIE fighters. They were relying on luck and skill more than anything, against the superior fighters.

The officer clicked the safety off the blaster, switched feet and moved himself closer to Gal'Tek. "I'm not playing games here. Give us the information, and come with us and be put to use elsewhere. Live a good life, or die here in the street. Or maybe I'll just let the Rangers get you and let you rot in some Alliance cell."

Gal'Tek chuckled. "They won't stand for this, this'll mean war!"

The officer sighed as he fired a shot at one of the Gal'Teks arms. Gal'Tek screamed in pain, gritting his teeth. "The Alliance wouldn't dare attack due to a rogue operation. This isn't even an Alliance world. We'll manage the politics, don't you worry."

Gal'Tek reached behind him with one of his remaining good hands, activating his communicator to allow Snoata to pinpoint his location. What good was paying a bounty hunter to look after you, when they're not even around?

@Sep

Snoanta

Location: Lothal

Snoanta noticed the salvage ships were being shot at, he deemed it a blessing in disguise. Perhaps this would distract his pursuers while he got into his curiser and would grab Gal’Tek. Rushing towards his vessel and sitting on the captain’s chair, closing the landing dock. Slowly his trasnport slowly rose off of the ground, “Make sure to keep those bastards out of our way, when we get close to him I'm gonna open the landing dock and grab him.” E8 made a couple of beeps in agreement.

The small droid helps the Wookie with navigating the chaotic skies, trying to avoid the other ship’s laser cannon’s. His ship occasionally gets into the crossfire damaging his ship. “Damn it.” Snoanta noticed Gal’Tek’s had activated his communicator so he could be tracked. “Very clever.” The ship was getting closer towards Gal’Tek’s position, when they were close enough Snoanta opened the landing dock. Holding onto a nearby handle while they got closer towards Gal’Tek. The ship was rattling and shaking, almost causing him to almost fall out. His transport was getting closer and closer towards Gal’Tek, he was worried that he would not be able to grab Gal’Tek thanks to all of the laser fire. Ordering E8 to move a bit closer towards the ground, Snoanta had to avoid the incoming gun fire from his pursuers.

His hand reached out trying to pull Gal’Tek into his ship, if successful then he could quickly throw Gal’Tek into his ship and help E8 get the ship off this planet. "Do you wanna tell me why you were being tracked? And who where those people?" He yelled out while also trying to focus getting themsleves out of danger.

The Republic transport shuddered against moderate turbulence as the chaotic blue blur of hyperspace flashed by, duly illuminating the rows of viewports running down the vessel’s oblong hull. Halfway down the bulk Ranger engisn Syal Antilles, known by most as only Lysa Dunter stared out into the vast unknown that was hyperspace, suffering from the inescapable plague that befell so many soldiers. Boredom. For the past forty-eight hours she’d been trapped within the overcrowded transport, along with nearly two thousand other crew from the Third Republic fleet, flying nonstop from Corellia to Kuat. At first, she had tried to sleep the journey away, as she was technically an officer, albeit an ensign, afforded her some limited privacy. She’d been granted quarters separated from the bulk enlisted housing, shared with four other female ensigns. The treatment granted her the ability rest for hours at a time without being disturbed, but after nearly two days of constant bunk time the energetic young woman felt if she got any more sleep, she, might start tearing her own hair out. Instead, she distracted herself idly by the viewport cleaning her pistol for the third time.

“All personnel, please standby for the captain’s announcement.” A robotic feminine voice announced over the ship’s intercom. Syal glanced up from her polished barrel. Maybe they were getting close to their destination. She checked her chrono. Yes, they had been enroute for almost the entirety of the predicted forty-three-hour flight. She quickly began assembling her pistol as a more masculine, and organic voice replaced the first, reverberating across the entire transport. “We shall be reverting to realspace over Kuat in an estimated fifteen minutes. Have your equipment and belongings properly packed for safe airlock transfer. We will be docking onto the Defender first, followed by the Indomitable, the Mothma, the Mon Sasorra and finally the Ralroost. If you have been assigned to an escort corvette or gunboat please disembark at your vessel’s lead-ship. You will be transferred from there separately.” His piece said the captain cut off the intercom bringing silence back to the halls.

Syal glanced towards her small bag containing all her worldly goods. Most of which were her spare uniforms. She hadn’t unpacked, there had not been space or need too, which meant she had nothing to do for the next twenty minutes, plus however long it took to reach the Ralroost down at the end of the disembarking list. Sighing she began disassembling her pistol again. A loud knock on her cabin hatch distracted her. Weird Syal thought, normally her cabin mates just barged in unannounced. “Enter.” She said, curious as to who might be calling. The portal buzzed open and there stood a young man, roughly her age with wild dark hair and a Ranger’s indigo flight uniform. Now that piqued Syal’s interest. She had thought she was the only Ranger onboard. It was strange, that on such a cramped ship she could have missed his presence, but to be fair she’d spent most of the time in her cabin, leaving only for the refresher and meals.

“Mind if I come in?” He asked from the threshold. Syal affirmed her consent and he stepped inside. “It took me awhile to track you down, I only half believed it when I heard there was another Ranger pilot onboard.” He explained as he plopped down in the rack opposite her. He extended a hand which Syal shook. “Tiom Rordan, and you are…?”

“Lysa, Lysa Dunter” Syal answered quickly, using the name that she’d chosen to conceal her identity as daughter of one of the most famous pilots in the galaxy. The exchanged the usual pleasantries custom to Corellia. Finally, after a short pause Tiom brought up what they were both thinking.

“Assigned to the Swords as well I assume?”

“Vibrosword Twelve, that’s me.” Syal huffed, the low placing as number twelve marked her as a replacement, but only Tiom grinned.

“And I’m Sword Eleven, I guess that explains why were a both traveling from Corellia to Kuat. Though…” He paused, a light of confusion in his eyes. “I don’t remember you from the academy. Were you not in Boresk Training Company?”

Syal shook her head. The training companies were large, big enough that it was possible to not know everyone who participated but she recognized why they’d never met in an instant. “I was in Rondo Compony, a month behind yours.

“Oh,” he paused, and Syal knew what his next question would be before he spoke. “Why are you back from leave so early?”

The first awkward silence hung between them as Syal tried to determine that answer herself. Mixed feelings of betrayal, personal responsibility, selfish pride, and the unease of her somewhat precarious situation warred in her mind. All of it surmounted by the simple fact that she couldn’t tell this Tiom Rordan the truth. She fished desperately for a cover story, and decided on one that was close enough to the truth that she wouldn’t forget or flub the details in its no doubt numerous retellings. “I dunno,” she said at last. “Family trouble. And I guess I wanted to get into the action. No reason to sit around for a month doing nothing.”

He seemed to accept her vague explanation, and thankfully did not try and pry further. Instead, he surprised her with a different, rather candid point. “That wasn’t very smart of you.”

Slightly miffed Syal raised an eyebrow at the remark. “Really?”

Tiom held up his hands defensively. “That came out more insulting than it should have. Its just, I’ve been told Rangers don’t get two seconds of personal time after their first mission. We’ll be bounced from one end of the galaxy to the next solving disputes and fighting and helping. There’s a reason why they give us a month of personal time before deployment, that’s all.”

Frowning Syal considered his explanation. She’d heard similar rundowns of Ranger life from veterans, but she’d always thought they were exaggerating for effect. After over forty hours of doing nothing she felt she would appreciate some non-stop duties. Whatever the case it didn’t matter now, she’d already been deployed, and her days of leave were forfeit. Syal was saved a response when the blue swirl of hyperspace slowed and formed into a sea of tiny pinpricks of light against the inky blackness of eternity. For a moment the transport hung in space, and then the sublight engines kicked on and the ship lurched forward, making course for the large Mon Cal cruiser at the center of the Republic fleet. They had arrived at last!

Tiom jumped to his feet, an eager light in his eyes. “I need to go get my things. I almost forgot we were so close to Kuat. So, can I meet you again down in the airlock before we report to Squadron Leader Hardus? We might as well do it together. What’s your name again, Lysa right?”

Syal finished reassembling her pistol and shook his hand again. He seemed a good man. Eager to please and pleasant, if somewhat blunt about his thoughts and intentions. She found herself glad he’d sought her out before they arrived on the Ralroost. It gave them a bit of familiarity, and support. Two rookies who could learn the ropes together instead of being thrown to the wolves alone amidst an unfamiliar environment. “That’s right, I’m Lysa and you’re Tiom. See you down there, Ranger.”

He waved as he left, just as Syal’s three cabin mates returned last minute to collect their belongings. Syal checked her chrono again and was surprised to see the captain’s earlier estimate had been slightly off. It had been almost twenty minutes.